Suspended crimping tool



Sept. 18, 1951 ,1. B. CLAPP SUSPENDED CRIMPING TOOL Filed Aug. 27, 1946 Patented Sept. 18, 1951 SUSPENDED CRIMPING 'roo'L Jerome 3; Claim, North Plainfield, N.

J 2, assignor to The Thomas a Betts 00., Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 27, 1946, Serial No. 693,320

2 Claims.

The invention relates to a hydraulic swaging or crimping tool designed to be suspended from a tower or other high point in the art of connecting the adjacent ends of electric cables or other conductors by crimping a coupling sleeve onto the cable ends.

It is a common practice in the electric art to intrude the ends of two conductors into opposite ends of a metallic sleeve, and by means of a die press or rolls, to crimp or roll the sleeve into a firm mechanical and electrical binding engagement with the ends of the conductors intruded into the sleeve. The compression tools as now known are base supported mechanically operated and include an upstanding body commonly known as a draw-bench.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a form of hydraulic tool of the die-press type which can be located conveniently in space most convenient to the point where it is to operate and to do this without necessity for providing any special form of support for the tool.

Broadly, this objective is attained by suspending the tool so that it may hang from any convenient overhead support and from which support the tool can be raised or lowered and adjusted to any desired location most convenient to the cable ends to be spliced. However, this manner of suspending, rather than base supporting the tool as heretofore practiced, introduces a practical difliculty in that the cable when so spliced is continuous across the desired location and across the tool and must be removed laterally not only from between the crimping dies of the tool but from the tool itself. of course any such overhead suspension must not interfere withthe present practice of removing the normally fixed die in order to permit the tool to be dropped down freely away from the hanging cable.

Accordingly another object of the invention is to provide a simple form of tool and associated aerial suspension therefor, and which in one posi-- tion properly locates the tool relative to the final position of the parts on which it is to operate and in another position permits the escape of the finished spliced cable from the tool.

Differently expressed the invention contemplates the use of a die-type compression or crimping tool which will have all of the advantages of known forms of such tools with its separable dies to permit the withdrawal from the space between the dies of the finished spliced cable, and which additionally can be suspended pendulently in use and while so suspended can be opened in its entirety to permit the complete withdrawal of the spliced cable from the suspended tool.

Broadly, this feature of the invention is attained by the use of a two-hanger type of suspension bail arranged to straddle the opening normally closed by one of the dies and thus to hold the tool in upright position, and disposed when one of the hangers is disconnected to tilt the device as a whole and after removal of the upper die to thus permit the complete displacement of the finished cable from the assembly of tool and its suspending means. To disclosure also features the employment of the usual pump hose as a weighted tail to hold the suspended tool more or less rigidly in a vertical position and thus substantially free from lateral swing or other processional movement.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and in part will be more fully set forth in the following description of one form of device embodying the invention, and of the manner of use herein disclosed, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and com bination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view largely diagrammatic showing a portion of a cable supporting tower with a preferred embodiment of the apparatus feature of the invention suspended therefrom and illustrating the same in the first or initial step of the method aspect of the disclosure and also showing a completed cable in the upper rear portion of the figure;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the swaging or crimping apparatus of Fig. 1 with both hangers in operative position; with the cable ends in position to be spliced in the splicing tube and showing the second or crimpingstep of the method; and

Fig. 3 is another view of the apparatus with one side of the bail or hangers disconnected and falling loose, the other in position supporting the apparatus and showing the final step of the method.

In the drawings and referring first to Fig. 1, there is disclosed a high skeleton form of tower A provided with a plurality of horizontally outstanding wire or cable supporting brackets B which terminate at their outer ends in suspension or cable fasteners hooks C. A pair of tandem insulators D and E extend in opposite directions from each bracket. From the outer end of each insulator extend respectively conductors or cables F and G leading in each case to the next adjacent tower. For the purpose of illustrating the invention herein featured one of the cables is I to form the finished spliced cable as shown in the upper rear portion of Fig. 1.

The apparatus for use in compressivel deforming the sleeve J into a crimping or other binding engagement with the' ends 'H and F of the conductors F and G include a hydraulic die tool ID, a suspension or bale II arranged to be attached at its upper end toa block and tackle K for suspending the tool in place from a cross arm L of the tower. A hose l2 depending therefrom is arranged to be attached to its lower end by means of a hose coupling l3, to other similar lengths of hose or to a pump connection.

The tool I9 is of somewhat conventional design and includes a body portion l4 formed of two parts telescopically screwed together, a hydraulic cylinder 15 forming the lower part and an open top yoke l6 forming the upper part. A ram plunger I7 is slidably mounted in the cylinder and is provided at its upper end with a lower die I8 working'between the upstanding arms I9 and of the yoke. These arms are recessed in their upper portion of their inner faces to form a pair of opposing dove-tail grooves 2| in and between which is slidably fitted a relatively fixed upper die 22.. The upperdie is arranged to be slid laterally out of the yoke and normally is held from accidental displacement from the yoke by means of a spring biased locking pin 23.

A distinctly novel feature of the apparatus and distinguishing from the prior art is that the tool is provided on diametrically opposite sides thereof with a pair of upstanding handles 24 and 25 each secured at its upper end to the yoke by means of screws 26 and at its lower end to the cylinder by means of screws 21. The midportion of the handles are spaced from the body portion [4 to provide relatively thin and conveniently accessible handle grips 28 on opposite sides of the tool. The upper end of each handle is of greater width and thus more rugged than the hand grips and provide rugged ears 29. Each ear is apertured to provide a left eye 30 on the left side of the tool and a right eye 3| on the diametrically opposite or right side of the tool. These eyes being each spaced high on the tool are disposed a material distance above its center of gravity so that under all conditions of service the tool will hang vertically even, in the absence of the hose. connection as shown in Fi 1.

It is the intent here to attach all loose parts to the body of the tool so that they can hang freely when not in use and at all times are conveniently accessible for replacement in their operative positions when needed. For this purpose the replaceable upper die 22 is secured by means of a short length of flexible chain 32 and the cap 33 of the hose coupling is secured by means of a short length of flexible chain 36.

The suspension l I includes a ring 35 fashioned to fit over and be hung from any of the hooks C, or from the hook of the block and tackle K. Two hangers 3B and 31 in the form of chains 4 of equal length depend from a swivel 40 hung from the ring 35 and extend in an inverted V-form therefrom to the ears 29, straddling the upper open end of the yoke as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The lower free ends of the hangers are equipped with snap or harness fasteners 38 and 39 for quick attachment to and separation from the eyes 30 and 3| on opposite sides of the tool.

The chamber 4| in the lower portion of the ram plunger I! is usually filled with oil retained therein bymeans of a self-closing compression valve contained in the valve casing 42 forming part of the hose coupling l3. When free of the hose l2 the valve closes the inlet at the bottom of the tool Ill. Likewise the end of the hose which forms part of the coupling I3 is provided with a self-closing valve in the valve casing 43 whichprevents leakage of the pressure transmitting oil from the hose 12. The valves are of the usual type which are opened one into the other automatically as an incident of connecting the hose and tool through the coupling 13. In this way the oil in the hose l2, and the oil in the chamber 4| are at all times under pressure and the pressure created by the pump is available immediately as soon as the coupling i3 is completed.

In operation and assuming that it is desired to couple together the hanging ends H and I of the cables F and G, otherwise held under tension by the insulators D-E, supported by the bracket B, the tool while on the ground or other convenient working place and connected to the pump is charged with the sleeve J. Pressure from the pump is opened momentarily to the chamber M to elevate the plunger l1 into position to clamp the sleeve J in place between the die jaws l8 and 22 and the hose I2 is then disconnected from the tool and the cap 33 replaced.

The tool l0 thus free of the pump hose and with the cap 33 closing the hose coupling and with the sleeve J clamped in position is lifted into place as by means of the block and tackle hooked onto any convenient part of the tower, such for instance as at the outer end of the bracket L as shown in Fig. 1.

The operator high on the tower then unscrews the cap 33 letting it fall within reach as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The pump hose [2 is then similarly elevated and the coupling is thus made with the pump or other .source of hydraulic power which is on the ground or other convenient support. In addition to its function for supplying pressure to the cylinder for actuating the lower die, the freely falling hose I2 acts as a weighted tail to keep the tool more or less rigidly in position hanging vertically. The ends of the cable are then intruded into the sleeve and if necessary momentarily held in place by the operator. Hydraulic power is then supplied to cause the lower die to elevate from the position shown in Fig. 2 and thus crimp the sleeve first into a binding engagement with one of the cable ends H or I and then into a binding engagement with the other cable end.

By this means thesleeve J can be located by manipulation of the block and tackle K more or less accurately in the place where it is to be finally located and extending in the proper direction. As the sleeve is thus supported in space by the tool In there is no necessity to steady the sleeve, and the two hands of the operator are thus free to guide the cable ends H and I into opposite ends of the substantially stationary sleeve; Of course the coupling sleeve J may be inserted in place in the tool while in elevated position by slipping it endwise between the dies and without any load on the lower die until needed for the crimping operation.

At the termination of the crimping operations the pressure is released at the pump thu permitting the lower die I8 to recede away from the crimped sleeve J and loosening the parts. The upper die is then moved laterally against the resistance of its retaining means 23, and permitted to fall into the inoperative but accessible position shown in Fig. 3, thus opening the upper end of the yoke. One of the snap f steners, such for instance as the left fastener 38 in the drawing is disconnected from the left eye 30 and permitted to fall loose. The fastener 39 of remaining hanger 31 such as the right hanger in Fig. 3 acts as-a pivot about which the tool swings slightly while maintaining the tool as a whole substantially in its preset elevated position. This removal of one of the hangersfrom the space in advance of the open end of the yoke exposes its interior so that the completed cable either may be lifted clear of the tool and permitted to fall into the position such as is indicated in the upper portion of Fig. 1, or the tool as a whole may be bodily lowered clear of the cable, in each case separati g the tool and cable.

'The'o'perator can thenswing the tool back into itg pendulent positionshown in Fig. 2, refasten the loose hanger, replacethe upper die in position in the yoke and the tool is again ready-for a repetition of this operation. I

. It is noted that the center of mass of the tool and the tail-like pump hose for the most part all hang in a vertical line through the point of suspension between the eye 35 and the bracket hook C or block and tackle hook. This tends to avoid side swing of the tool, facilitates the mounting of the sleeve J and cable ends into the tool and tends to make all of the sleeve splicings alike.

It has been found that under the condition in which the device operated, with pressure of twenty tons acting through the lifting die 18 in one form, care must be exercised to insure exact parallelism in the approach of the movable die l8 towards its fixed companion 22. Any lateral shifting of the elevating die l8 will cause the sleeve L to twist about its axis and the resulting splice will not be satisfactory. Dependence cannot be placed upon the sides of the yoke to insure the travel of the die l8 in a straight line. In order to avoid any possibility that the mating surfaces of the dies do not remain parallel as one approaches the other, means are provided to center or telescope the dies one into the other as they approach each other.

For this purpose the lower die I8 is provided with two upstanding guide ,or dowel pins 44 and 45 and the upper die with two long sockets 46 and 41 into which the pins 44 and 45 respectively are intruded as soon as the sleeve L begins to become deformed by reason of the squeeze action of the dies.

A further refinement of the mating surfaces is that upper and lower recesses 48 and 49 at the center of each surface have their opposing sides inclined inwardly each at 60. degrees to the horizontal and rounding into the bottom of their respective recesses.

It is a usual practice to polish the sleeve J before it is subjected to the compressive operation disclosed in order to avoid the formation of any flashing or other surface coatings or skin which are apt to form onthese sleeves; However under some circumstances it is of advantage to omit the. polishing and to scrape the flashing off the sleeve in the act of forming the crimps. For this purpose the mating surfaces of the dies are each provided on opposite sides of its associated? recess with parallel cut outs or channels- 50 and 5| V-shaped in cross section which coact with the adjacent edges of the side walls outlining the' recesses to form knife-like scraping edges 52: and 53.

Bythese means the two dies become locked to-' gether as they approach each other with the permissible and necessary relative axial movement but restrained from movement in all other directions so long as the dowel pins are in their sockets. The pressure of the scraping knife edges:- 52 and 53 act as the dies close on themselves-to scrape off the sleeve any flashing which might otherwise tend to accumulate on the surface of the sleeve as it becomes distorted.

I claim:

1. An aerial device for use when suspended from an overhead support to crimp a ductile sleeve formed of conductive metal onto the ends of a pair of conductors hanging in space to form a,-catenary, said device comprising in vertically depending order a suspensory, a crimping tool adapted first to clamp the sleeve while being elevated into place and then to crimp the sleeve onto the conductors when'inserted' therein and a tail depending from the tool, said'tool including an upstanding body whose upper portion forms a pair of upstanding arms constituting an open top yoke and whose lower portion forms a hydraulic cylinder, opposing faces of the arms forming the yoke provided adjacent their upper ends with a pair of inwardly facing opposing groovesysaid' yoke provided with a pair of outstanding apertured ears backing and tending to reinforce the part of the arms provided with the grooves, a pair of sleeve-clamping and deforming squeeze dies carried by the yoke in superposed relation, the upper die constituting a relatively fixed die forming a replaceable closure for the upper open end of the yoke, fitted between the grooves, guided by its engagement in the grooves for lateral displacement from the yoke and at all times restrained by the sides of the grooves from any movement in the direction of relative movement of the squeeze dies, a plunger slidably mounted in the cylinder and guided axially thereby, the lower die being a relatively movable die rigidly secured to the plunger to move therewith and guided thereby positively to and from the fixed die, one of the dies provided with a pair of pins projecting therefrom on opposite sides of the axis of thrust of the dies toward the other die and the other die provided with a pair of sockets in which the pins fit, whereby when the pins are free of their sockets the upper die may be removed from the yoke and when the lower die approaches the upper die sufficiently to have the pins intrude into their sockets the upper die is held immovably fixed to the yoke, said suspensory including two hangers adapted to depend from the support, straddling the upper end of the yoke with their lower ends detachably engaging the apertured ears whereby when the upper die is removed from the yoke and the connection between one of the suspensory hangers and its apertured ear is disconnected, the other suspensory hanger is operative to lower the tool away from the sleeve when held in space by the catenary, and said tail constituting a hose connected to the lower end of 7 the cylinder for supplying actuating power thereto, said hose depending freely from the body and acting as a loaded tail tending to maintain the tool and its suspensory substantially fixed in an upstanding .vertical position when suspended from the overhead support.

2. An aerial device for use when suspended from an overhead support to crimp a ductile sleeve formed of conductive metal onto the ends of a pair of conductors hanging in space to form a catenary, said device comprising in vertically depending order a suspensory, a crimping tool adapted first to clamp the sleeve while being elevated into place and then to crimp the sleeve onto the conductors when inserted therein and a tail depending from the tool, said tool including an upstanding body whose upper portion forms a pair of upstanding arms constitutin an open top yoke and whose lower portion forms a hydraulic cylinder, opposing faces of the arms-forming the yoke provided adjacent their upper ends with a pair of inwardly-facing opposing grooves, said yoke provided with a pair of outstanding apertured ears backing and tending to reinforce the part of the arms provided with the grooves, a pair of sleeve-clamping and deforming squeeze dies carried by the yoke in superposed relation, the upper die constituting a relatively fixed die forming a replaceable closure for the upper open end of the yoke, fitted between the grooves, guided by its engagement in the grooves for. lateral displacement from the yokeand at all times restrained by the sides of the grooves from any movement in the direction of relative movement of the squeeze dies, a plunger slidably mounted in the cylinder and guided axially thereby, the lower die being a relatively movable die rigidly secured to the plunger to move therewith and guided thereby positively to and from the fixed die, said suspensory including two hangers adapted to depend from the support, straddling the upper end of the yoke with their lower ends detachably engaging the apertured ears whereby when the upper die is removed from the yoke and the connection between one of the suspensory hangers and its apertured ear is disconnected, the other suspensory hanger is operative to lower the tool away from the sleeve when held in space by the catenary, and said tail constituting a hose connected to the lower end of the cylinder for supplying actuating power thereto, said hose depending freely from the body and acting as a loaded tail tending to maintain the tool and its suspensory substantially fixed in an upstanding vertical position when suspended from the overhead support.

JEROME B. CLAPP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

